Chapter 311: End Of The World [PART 1]
[A voice?] the Empress asked.
“Yeah, I keep hearing it,” Li Yao replied, glancing around.
“Well, it’s probably not that important,” she said dismissively, her expression quickly shifting to one of eager anticipation.
“Let’s go! I want to see Senior Brother!”
Without another word, she leaped into the air and flew swiftly toward the spirit vein cave.
Meanwhile, Xiang Yu had been cultivating leisurely in the spirit spring after enjoying lunch with his master and martial aunt when he felt Li Yao’s presence entering the sect formation.
“She’s back,” he thought to himself.
Before he could even consider going out to greet her, he sensed that she was already at the entrance to his cave.
He quickly controlled the cave’s formation, allowing her passage.
Li Yao burst into the cave, her face glowing with joy.
“Senior Brother, I’m back!” she announced loudly.
“Welcome back,” Xiang Yu replied warmly.
Li Yao suddenly paused mid-step, her eyes widening as she took in his appearance. “Senior Brother, you look different,” she said with fascination, walking closer to examine him more carefully.
It was then that Xiang Yu realized he was still in his monster form.
Just as he was about to revert back to his normal human form, Li Yao suddenly launched herself at him with enthusiasm.
“Wow, it’s so cute, and fluffy, and soft! I want to tie it up!” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him.
(—__—)
Xiang Yu quickly reverted to his normal appearance.
“What do you mean ‘tie up’? Who says that when they see something cute?” he thought to himself, though he didn’t bother voicing it aloud. After all, his junior sister had always been this sort of person.
When he transformed back, Li Yao’s face visibly fell with disappointment. However, she quickly adapted to the situation and jumped up to sit comfortably on his lap.
“I also like this Senior Brother. I want to…” she began, but then noticed the way Xiang Yu was looking at her with raised eyebrows. She paused, seeming to reconsider her words carefully.
“Umm, well, be with Senior Brother forever,” she said instead, her cheeks turning slightly pink.
“Right…”
He thought to himself that she was definitely going to say “tie up” right there.
“Right!” Li Yao nodded her head enthusiastically.
Xiang Yu could only sigh. “How did it go?” he asked, changing the subject.
Li Yao’s face immediately lit up with excitement as she proceeded to enthusiastically narrate everything that had happened since they had parted ways.
The Empress occasionally interjected whenever Li Yao tried to embellish certain details to make herself appear more impressive or heroic than she actually had been.
After Li Yao promised the Empress some undisclosed reward, the empress went silent and allowed Li Yao to tell the story in her own way.
“Senior Brother, I did good right?” she asked with bright, expectant eyes, waiting for his approval.
Xiang Yu remained completely silent for a long moment, his expression unreadable.
“Senior Brother?” she asked again, wondering what was causing his unusual reaction. Was he so impressed by her heroic deeds that he couldn’t even find words to express his admiration? A mischievous smile played at the corners of her mouth as she imagined using this moment to ask for some special reward.
Xiang Yu slowly shook his head, his expression growing more serious. “You really destroyed the demon lotus?” he asked.
“Yes! All gone! No more! Trust me!” she said proudly, puffing out her chest.
But instead of the praise she expected, Xiang Yu’s expression became deeply saddened. Even his shoulders sagged slightly.
“Senior Brother? Did I do something wrong?” she asked, her confidence beginning to waver as she noticed his unusual reaction.
“My money-making opportunity, it’s all gone!” he said with genuine despair in his voice. “I thought I could make enough money to enjoy life until I retired.” He let out a huge sigh “It seems I was dreaming too much.”
He then gazed wistfully at the ceiling of the cave as if it were the vast sky above, his expression filled with nostalgic longing. “Looks like the world is against me fr.”
It was at that moment that Li Yao remembered that Xiang Yu had been planning to start a business venture. He had intended to take advantage of the lockdown and travel restrictions caused by the demon lotus’s presence to establish a business.
Her face immediately transformed into an expression of deep guilt.
She pushed herself even closer to Xiang Yu.
“Senior Brother, I’m sorry about your business,” she said with genuine remorse in her voice.
“It’s okay,” Xiang Yu replied with resignation. “It just died before it could even take its first steps. Nothing big, really. They say you have to fail ten thousand times before you eventually make it big.”
“Senior Brother, it’s all my fault,” she said.
Xiang Yu wondered why she was suddenly becoming so passionate.
“No, it’s okay. It’s good to save the world,” he said.
But Li Yao refused to be consoled. “No, I have to take responsibility for what I’ve done,” she declared with determination.
Xiang Yu’s interest was suddenly piqued. He wondered if she had perhaps collected some incredibly expensive treasures or artifacts during her journey. After all, she was the main character so it would make sense for her to have accumulated vast riches through her adventures.
“I don’t have any money to repay you,” Li Yao said seriously, “so I’ll have to pay you back with my body instead.”
She then began to undress without any hesitation.
(—__—)
…
“Never mind. It wasn’t even that important anyway,” Xiang Yu said, quickly reaching out to prevent her from removing any more of her clothing.
“But you said it was your dream,” she protested.
As they continued going back and forth, Li Yao suddenly let out a scream. Without warning, she launched herself at him with such force that he had no choice but to catch her.
Xiang Yu immediately leaped out of the spirit spring, holding her securely in his arms as water droplets scattered around them. His expression was serious as he scanned the area for threats.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“There’s a monster in the water!” Li Yao exclaimed, pointing back at the spring with a trembling finger.
“Monster?” Xiang Yu wondered if this was another one of her schemes.
But as he was considering this possibility, something actually began to emerge from the spring.
The creature that surfaced wasn’t really a monster though. It was incredibly tiny, standing only about a quarter meter tall. Its appearance reminded Xiang Yu strongly of those slime creatures he used to encounter in video games from his previous life – a gelatinous, translucent blue body.
Xiang Yu wondered if the increase in spiritual energy concentration in this area had somehow caused the environment to start spawning mobs. If that was the case, then it would be really annoying.
As he was contemplating this, the creature suddenly spoke with a voice that seemed to resonate directly in their minds. Somewhat similar to how the empress spoke.
it said.
“That voice…” Li Yao spoke with recognition.
“It’s you! You’re the one who’s been begging for help inside my head all this time!” she declared, pointing accusingly at the small creature.
the creature replied, its voice filled with frustration.
“So what if I did? I want to spend time with Senior Brother. Why do I have to help you just because you said so?” Li Yao retorted defiantly, crossing her arms.
The creature looked at her as if it had been deeply wronged. Then, much to their surprise, it suddenly broke into tears.
Xiang Yu glanced at Li Yao with a disapproving expression.
Seeing his look, she quickly waved her hands in a panic. “I didn’t mean it like that! Stop crying!” she said, her voice taking on a more gentle tone.
After several minutes of awkward attempts at consolation, she finally managed to get the creature to stop its sobs.
“Who are you anyway?” Li Yao asked.
<I’m the core of the world. Please help me – the world is about to come to an end>
…
A/N: Yes, it’s what made Li Yao a spirit.
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